HP Challenge: Day 18

Q: Which is your favorite magical being?

A: Metamorphmagi

A metamorphagus (pl. metamorphagi) is a person born with the ability to change their outer appearance at will. 

They can change their hair color, body type, race, age, even their gender.
It's a very rare condition that a witch or wizard must be born with, it cannot be learned.

Nymphadora Tonks was an metamorphagus :) and she was a BADASS.

Which is your favorite being?

HP Challenge: Day 17

Q: Which is your favorite Magical Creature?

A: Hippogriffs

I loved Buckbeak :)
I don't really have a reason other than him being awesome.
He reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to draw all sorts of mixed breed animals.
(ex: a bull dog with a kangaroos body, also known as a bullaroo ;)

What's your favorite?

Tunesday: Justin Timberlake

I don't think I've mentioned this to you guys yet,
but I LOVE Justin Timberlake.
Another thing that I love? 

SNL.
And guess who was the host AND musical guest on SNL this week?
:)

This is one of JT's new songs, I LOVE it.

"Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake

Give it a listen, it kind of reminds me of when he was still with N*Sync.
And, if you're in the mood to laugh so hard you pee your pants, go watch his episode of SNL, I'll even give you the link:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/465356

Have a great day loves :)

HP Challenge: Day 16

Q: Which Quidditch position would you play?

A: Keeper
 

Honestly, I think I would play any position OTHER than Seeker.
Yeah, the Seeker is important, but it's like you're not even playing the game.
The Chasers are scoring points (awesome),
the Keeper is trying to defend the goals (awesome)
and the Beaters are busy trying to knock the other players off their brooms (awesome).
And what is the Seeker doing?
He's just chilling, avoiding Bludgers and trying to locate a tiny golden ball so the game can end.

AND
if you really think about it, the Seeker has the most stressful position of all.
If he/she doesn't catch the Snitch, they lose the game (unless, of course, his/her team was up by more than 150 points...)

So yeah, I'll stick to Keeping :)

What position would you play?

HP Challenge: Day 15

Q: Were there any parts of the books that you thought should have made the movie?

A: "I don't think you're a waste of space."
 

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

The relationship between Harry and Dudley was always important to me.
I don't know if it's because they grew up together or the fact that he was Harry's first bully, but I was always wondering how they would end up.

Throughout the whole series I had a bit of a love / hate thing going on with the Dudley's character.
He was a COMPLETE ass, but the thing is, he was RAISED that way.
I know, I know, that doesn't make him less of a bully, but just imagine what it was like being Dudley.
You've got two parents that spoil the shit out of you, so much so that it fucks with your development and you grow into a asshole child with a crazy sense of entitlement. Now add the fact that you weigh the same amount of a baby whale (which in this case was another benefit of his crap upbringing) and you have a cousin who is a fucking WIZARD. 

I'd be SO unbelievably jealous.

And yeah, he treated Harry like shit for most of the his adolescent life, but again, WHO taught him to do that? His parents.
His parents were absolutely HORRIBLE to Harry, how on earth could you expect Dudley to treat him any better?

I think that's why this moment in the series was so important to me. The whole time I was like "this kid is better than this, he's better than this"; I would have been really disappointed if he hadn't been.

You know how when you're a kid and you kind of just agree with everything your parents do?

And do you remember the age when you actually started questioning some of those things?
I'm not talking about the rebellious teen thing where EVERYTHING your parents say is wrong. I'm talking about when you grow up and you realize that there are some things your parents believe that you just can't.

Well, I feel that that is what happened with Dudley.
He grew up and realized that Harry never did anything to deserve the way he had been treated growing up, and that he had to fix it.

Anyway, yeah, that's what I missed most in the movies.

What did you miss?

HP Challenge: Day 14

Q: If you could bring any character back to life, 

who would it be?

A: Fred Weasley 

 

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**
(obviously.)

I honestly didn't believe it when Fred died.
I had to re-read the paragraph like 4 times until I realized that I wasn't misreading.
He was really gone :(

I think the worst part is that George now has to live without his brother.
Fred was his best friend, his twin and his everything.
They were never apart, they were even together when Fred died.

I can't even imagine how painful it was for George, to be alone for the first time since birth,
knowing that he'll never see his brother again.

(the Mirror of Erised)

Wow, totally just bummed myself out, HARD.
But I guess that is to be expected with a question like this.

Who would you bring back?

HP Challenge: Day 13

Q: Which member of the cast would you like to meet?

A: EVERYONE

This question is IMPOSSIBLE to answer.
I would love to meet any and ALL the actors and actresses that took part in the Harry Potter series.

  

Who would you meet?

See you tomorrow :)

HP Challenge: Day 12

Q: Which is your favorite professor at Hogwarts?

A: Professor Remus Lupin

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

I loved Lupin the second he awoke on the Hogwarts Express.
I dunno if it was because he was the first proper Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, or the fact that he was just a great teacher in general.

I love Professor Snape, as I explained on Day 3, but I was pissed when he exposed Lupin's lycanthropy to the wizarding public. I was so happy when he married Tonks, and when his son was born. 

Lupin wasn't always the happiest of characters, and he was definitely a loner, until Tonks that is :)

I cried so much when they died :(

But we got to see him one more time, as Harry entered the forest to die.
He was a hero.

Who is your favorite Hogwarts professor?

HP Challenge: Day 11

Q: Who would be your 3 best friends at Hogwarts?

A: Fred, George & Neville

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Fred and George were always two of my favorite characters.
They were always lighthearted, even when times looked bleakest.
Not to mention the fact that Fred and George were the ones that recovered the Marauder's Map and gave it to Harry.

They were always the comic relief, in good times and in bad.
When Fred died, I couldn't believe it. I was so angry and sad all at once.

And of course, Neville :)

He won me over at the end of the Sorcerer's Stone, when he tried to stop Harry, Ron and Hermione from sneaking out of the House.
I am so UNBELIEVABLY happy with how Neville turned out.
Even if he didn't know it, he could have easily been The Chosen One.
His and Harry's lives were practically parallel with each others', except for the fact that his suffering wasn't as well known.
In the end, he stood up to Voldemort not as the Chosen One, but as a man doing what he knew was right.
And that, my friends, makes him one of the most bad ass men in the entire series :)

J.K. Rowling never ceases to amaze me.

Who would your friends be?

Have a good one!

HP Challenge: Day 10

Q: Which is your least favorite movie?

A: The Order of the Phoenix

This post is a little bit boring, because it's basically going to be the same as Day 9.

I WILL say, that I think they focused on the best parts of the book while making the movie.

I am sad they left out the Longbottoms at St. Mungo's though =/
I felt that that was something absolutely CRUCIAL in Neville's character development.

But other than that I think that the movie was brilliantly made.

See you tomorrow!

Tunesday: A Fine Frenzy

 Hello again!

"Lifesize" --A Fine Frenzy

This song is in an older episode of How I Met Your Mother.
I was watching the series over the other day (again) and couldn't resist SoundHound-ing it :)
It's sweet and light and fun :)
I hope it makes your day a little brighter.

HP Challenge: Day 9

Q: Which was your least favorite book?

A: The Order of the Phoenix

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

It's so hard to pick a least favorite.
Not only are they they all great, but every book has a chunk of "favorite" in it.
 

Like, in the first one we are introduced to this whole new wizarding world.
In the second we meet Tom Riddle for the first time, and learn a little bit about the history of Hogwarts.
In the third we are find out about James and his friends while they were in school, and what really happened the night Harry's parents died.

In the fourth we read about new magic, are reunited with Dobby and learn that there can be dysfunctional families even in the wizarding world.
In the sixth things start to get serious, we find out about Horcruxes, and Snape kills Dumbledore, leaving us with a nagging curiosity as to why.
In the seventh, EVERYTHING HAPPENS. Everyone (well not everyone but you get me) dies, everybody fights, and we learn where everyone's true loyalty lies.

The fifth one has great moments too.

Dumbledore's Army is established in book 5, one of my favorite parts of the whole story.
Luna Lovegood is first introduced in The Order of the Phoenix.
We learn about the original Order, something I am still obsessed with to this day.

But there's also a lot of sad things...

Harry almost gets expelled.
The entire Ministry of Magic is against both he and Dumbledore.
UMBRIDGE.
You find out more about Neville parents and what happened to them :(
And Sirius dies :(
Not to mention Cho being all weird and boo-hoo-y.

That and, I feel that The Order of the Phoenix was more of a transition from the younger years of Harry Potter (books 1-4) and plunged us into the "grown-up" serious stuff. As as the first book with "adult" problems it has the responsibility of setting the mood.

And don't get me wrong, book 5 was absolutely crucial and I really enjoyed reading it. I just feel that it was more explaining instead of doing, which is probably why it didn't grip me as tightly as the others.

It really blows me away that J.K. Rowling was able to create such an elaborate story without a hitch.
Everything connects perfectly, it's truly amazing.

See you tomorrow for Day 10!

HP Challenge: Day 8

Q: Where there any moments in the books / movies that made you cry?

A: Shit tons.

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Something you may not know about me...
I cry during movies. ALL. THE. TIME. And it doesn't really matter what kind of movie it is.
Drama, action, comedy, musicals, if there's something extremely happy or extremely sad, I'm bawling.

These movies are no exception.

In fact, I'm pretty sure they're even worse.

I'm almost positive there is at least one part of each movie that gets me.

I cried when Hagrid had his name cleared at the end of The Chamber of Secrets.

I cried when Sirius died in Order of the Phoenix.

I cried when Dumbledore died in The Half Blood Prince.

And Christ, I cried like every 10 minutes in the last movie.
I cried every time someone died, I cried when the Battle of Hogwarts began,
I cried when Snape's story was finally explained, 

and I cried when everyone thought Harry was dead.
I was DANGEROUSLY dehydrated after watching that movie.

I cried while reading the books too, but not quite as much as with the movies.
With the movies you have visuals and music and I don't stand a chance.

Aaaaand now I'm sad :(

See you tomorrow guys.

HP Challenge: Day 7

Q: Which character is the most like you?

A: Minerva McGonagall

This was a tough one.
I feel that I have something in common with each of the characters, but no one that was me exactly.
So I asked Kelsie (she's doing the challenge too).
She thought about it for a bit and came back with Professor McGonagall, and after thinking about it myself, I agree.
McGonagall was a character I always admired while reading the books. 

Everyone has had a teacher like Professor McGonagall.

 At first glance, she is stern, tough, intimidating; she's someone that you don't want to cross. But when you get to know her you realized that although she is an authority figure, her main priority is the safety of Hogwarts and the students that dwell within. She fights for what's right and is always there to help when someone needs it.

Not to mention the fact that she's a total badass and Head of Gryffindor House :)

I can see it :)

Which character is the most like you?

Have a good one loves, see you tomorrow :)

HP Challenge: Day 6

Q: Hallows or Horcruxes?

A: Hallows
 

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

As I mentioned when I first introduced the HP Challenge, 
I took these questions from another, much longer challenge. 
I chose this one, but I don't really know why.
Who would choose Horcruxes?
Horcruxes are the result of murder and evil. Hallows are legendary items that were believed to be nothing but myth. It's not a hard decision...
One of the questions I cut from the challenge was "Team Harry or Team Voldemort?", 
so maybe this question is for whoever decided to say Voldemort.

See you tomorrow :)

HP Challenge: Day 5

Q: Which is your favorite subject at Hogwarts?

A: Defense Against the Dark Arts

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

To be totally honest, I can't really think of a subject that I wouldn't enjoy (maybe Herbology...)
But I just always thought that Defense Against the Dark Arts was the coolest subject.
Lupin taught it, and he was one of my favorite professors (I'm sure I'll get to that one of these days;)
I was so sad when he had to leave :(
And needless to say, it's a pretty important subject.

Which is your favorite?

Have a great night loves ;)

HP Challenge: Day 4

Q: Which is your favorite female character?

A: Hermione Granger

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

I have a confession.
I HATED Hermione is the first book. 

She was bossy and snotty and thought she was better than everyone else. Not to mention the fact that she was a total know-it-all, which couldn't be more annoying in an 11-year-old.
I didn't really start to "tolerate" her character until book 3, but once I got to book 5 I absolutely loved her.

You may be thinking:

"But Kat, if you disliked her for half of the series, how could she be your favorite?"
I'll tell you you wonderful wonderer.
 

In book 5, 6, & 7 shit got real, 

and Hermione was the ONLY reason they were able to make it through. 

I don't know if it was Cedric's death or the return of You-Know-Who, but I swear, it was like someone bitch slapped Hermione. 

She became less concerned about her reputation and following the rules and more about fighting the good fight. By the end of the series, she was a fucking hero. And I think it was that transformation from brat to beast that made me love her.
Not to mention the fact that she and Ron are amazing together.

Professor McGonagall was a close second.

See you tomorrow :)

 

HP Challenge: Day 3

Q: Which is your favorite male character?

A: Severus Snape
 

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

I have loved Snape from the very beginning.
I knew that he wouldn't end up being a villain, and the only reason why that I can think of is that even as a 10 year old I knew that J.K. Rowling wasn't going to be THAT predictable.
 

Can you imagine?
"Oh my God! Snape is a bad guy! How did we not see this coming? They've only expected him since book 1." 

I would have been thoroughly irked if he had gone back to the Dark Lord (for realsies that is).

But Miss Rowling did not disappoint. 

In fact, she created the best possible story for Severus Snape. I'm a sucker for unrequited love stories (which is why I was totally Team Jacob until book 4 of the Twilight Series, at which point I became enraged and chucked my book across the floor), and the story of Snape and Lily is absolutely beautiful.

I've said this a billion times (mostly to Kelsie), 

I really REALLY want J.K. Rowling to write a prequel series all about the original Order of the Phoenix and when Voldemort first rose to power.The stories of James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin, The Longbottoms, and Severus. I would be so blown away.

Albus Dumbledore was a close second.
He's like my Yoda.

Who is your favorite?

Have a good one!

Tunesday: Scala & Kolacny Brothers

It's Tunesday!

"Nothing Else Matters" --Scala & Kolacny Brothers
(originally by Metallica)

Here's a choir cover of "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.
It was on the Zero Dark Thirty trailer and caught my ear.
This is the song (not this version, but the original) that my husband and I danced to at our wedding :)

Hope you like it!